Thinking this morning of all the Christmas celebrations that took place this season, there rose a question in my heart as to “what change has Christmas made in our hearts and lives?” Christmas is all about meeting Jesus, the Son of God. His birth is the beginning of miraculous events that God sent our way to show us how to come back to Him. We should awaken each day after Christmas with a new closeness to our Savior, Lord, and King.

As our Christmas Day celebrations end, and our lives begin to return to normal – whatever normal is – taking down decorations, returning to work, and finding storage space for all our new gifts; we need to think about the difference this Christmas Season, meaning Jesus, has made in our lives! Whenever we spend time with Jesus, focusing on Him, our heart should change to be more and more like Him.

Think about this: after seeing the new born king, the shepherds returned to their flocks of sheep as their daily routine, but the difference was the change in their heart. (Luke 2:8-20) The wise men, after worshiping the child, returned to their homes with a new perspective on what the new King of the Jews would bring to the world. (Matthew 2:1-12) Though the time frame of whatever that “day after meeting Jesus” was, they each returned to their home changed. They were not the same; their hearts were changed after seeing Jesus. After Saul met Jesus on the Damascus Road, his heart was changed from Saul the persecutor of Christians to Paul the teacher of Christianity. (Acts 9:1-15) Each of the Disciples lives were changed after meeting Jesus and choosing to follow Him. (Luke 6:12)

Our encounters with Jesus should also bring change into our heart and lives. This change of heart should move us beyond this once-a-year celebration of His birth to an every day celebration of His Presence in our lives.

So, no matter how you are ending this celebration season of Christmas, I challenge you to make a commitment to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” each day, and allow God to do His workmanship in your heart and life as a testimony of His love and goodness. (Matthew 6:33, Ephesians 2:10)